A joint venture of Russian shipowner Sovcomflot (SCF Group) and compatriot energy company Novatek as announced the contract signings on orders for 10 Arc7 LNG carrier newbuildings.

The ships ordered by the Smart LNG joint venture will serve the Arctic LNG 2 project.

In separate announcements, the companies said Smart LNG signed contracts with Russia's VEB.RF Group and Zvezda Shipbuilding Complex to construct and lease ten icebreaking Arc7 LNG carriers, as reported by TradeWinds last month.

The venture has also inked long-term time charter agreements for the ships with Arctic LNG 2, the operator of Novatek's Arctic-based project on the Gydan peninsula.

The partners highlighted that in total 15 Arc7 newbuildings have now been signed with Zvezda and VEB.RF

The contracts for the lead ship in the series were signed by Sovcomflot in October 2019, with those for a quartet of sisterships following in January.

All the vessels will be operated under the Russian Federation flag with the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping providing construction supervision.

Additional Arc7 LNG newbuildings for Russia's Arctic LNG projects are expected to be signed at DSME in South Korea in the near future.

Sovcomflot said the addition of ten long-term time charters boost is contracted future earnings and receivables to $20bn.

An impression of Zvezda's Arc7 LNG carrier newbuilding. Photo: Zvezda

President and chief executive Igor Tonkovidov said thecontracts on all 15 Arc7 LNG carriers at Zvezda enable the Russian shipping community to play a role in transporting cargoes of strategic importance for the Russian economy, which are generated by large-scale energy projects in the Russian Arctic.

Tonkovidov said: "These contracts will also help to further develop our national expertise in ice navigation and create over 850 new jobs for Russian seafarers, as all the 15 vessels will have Russian crews."

The CEO said this new generation of Arctic LNG carriers, which will contribute significantly to growing the cargo traffic along the Northern Sea Route paves the way for establishing the domestic production of LNG carriers, and the advanced technologies and engineering solutions that this entails.

Sovcomflot boasts a fleet of 146 vessels, including ships held in joint venture, over 80 of which have an ice class.